Book Notes

Those are books I've read and was not lazy enough to make highlights in them. Each book has a little summary and all the highlights I made while reading. Note that, book notes are not summaries, but a tool which should help you decide if you want to read the book or refresh memory if you've already read it. All highlights are sic erat scriptum.

In the list below they are sorted by date I've finished reading each. Technical, engineering and design references and textbooks usually don't make the cut, since I prefer those on paper. My complete book log can be found on Goodreads.

The complete title of the book is Composition in Photography: The Photographer as Storyteller. I'm in a phase of my photography when you want me to buy a book of your's, just put “storyteller” in the title and wait a couple of minutes until I send money towards you.

Unlike other books I’ve read on the subject of composition, it is not a reference manual (or imitation of such.) Thorsten is quite frank from the very first pages that the purpose of the book is to inspire and share his experiences and techniques, rather than analyze the work of photographers as a gallery curator or an art critic would. I find that most approachable and practical way to teach someone something. Think about it like working with a vastly experienced co-worker and mentor, rather than sitting in a class. I love how hands-on and laid back Thorsten's witting style is.

I liked reading Scott's journey to becoming one of the most well-known people in ultra and endurance sports in general. On Goodreads, many criticize him for not being a good writer, which I find odd. The book is a memoir written by an athlete; a collection of stories and experiences with a dozen vegan recipes and tips on efficient running technique—what more could it be? While not a literary masterpiece I'd recommend this book to anyone who is into endurance sports and has trouble maintaining training schedule, grinding through longs workout sessions and generally struggles with the mental stress that comes with endurance training. According to Scott Jurek, it's all in your head, and what you put into your body—the diet. As someone who has experience of losing almost 30kgs (65 pounds) and starting running from less than 1K, I'm inclined to agree.

This book is a reference, not a textbook. Which makes it quite dull read on compositions but does provide a wide variety of examples — impressive 83 of them. That amount of samples covers quite a range of photographs, but I was not impressed with example photos. Some of the composition diagrams felt like analysis rather than construction techniques. I found it strange as the book is supposed to teach you quick thinking of constructing an image while the environment is changing and you are holding a camera.

What I liked about the book is lots of references to other exciting materials—especially cinematography textbooks. Overall, given how short and easy to read this book is, I'd say read it, but make sure to ignore western cultural stereotypes from the late 20th century.

Small, fun, and motivational guide on how to do build a personal business from the hobby. Super quick read, full of useful and small candies of information and tips. Want to start a small business and make money off your hobby? Read this book.

It is not easy reading. It is disturbing in many ways. Nor it is a photo essay or guide on how to be a journalist or war photographer. This book is an autobiography of a person who's is obsessed with her work and sense of justice — someone who'll chase news and truth even when her life is at stake. I mentioned this is not a photojournalists handbook, but I'd recommend anyone interested in photography to read this book, because no matter what kind of photography you do if you are seriously thinking about this career, you should know that taking photos is only part of the equation.

The Nature of Code is a fantastic book about the world around us, programming, simulation, and beauty of math. I am in love. You will learn how to simulate natural systems of all kind. You will learn how intertwined math and nature are. I read this book to improve my user interface programming skills, but I learned much more than that. I'd argue that any software engineer should once at least skim through this book. Game developers, biologists, and physicists owe themselves to at least be aware of this book.

Loved it! The book is full of little nuggets and practical advice on how to be a better Swift developer. It shouldn't be your first Swift book, but it could be a great second one. There are two traits of software engineer I value the most—being pragmatic (over being "clever" or tribalistic) and have a craftsman mindset. Paul seems to have both, and he shares his knowledge and experience through those two lenses. This book is my favorite Swift book so far, and I've read quite a lot of them.

The most comprehensive book about Auto Layout on iOS I’ve read so far. Full of neat tips and tricks as well as best practices otherwise not well documented in Apple’s documentation. The last chapter about trait collections is must read for any iOS developer no matter the experience. Excellent, well written, independently published book. Very recommended.

This book resonated with me more than any I've read. It felt like a formalization and validation of my finding of life for the past ten to twelve years. At the same time, I'm sure, 18-year-old me wouldn’t go past seemingly cheesy title. I can't tell you more, or even recommend reading it. If I have to, this would be my pitch: If you value calmness and tranquility, read it.

Every procrastinator like me should read this book, but before you run and pick one up, be warned—it is written in a very unusual way. First two books (let's call them chapters) are motivating and full of identifying what Resistance is and how to overcome it. Those two were most valuable to me. The third chapter is almost religious, which didn't much resonate with me, but I can see Steven's point of which I do agree. Somewhere on page 20, I started to treat the book as a provocative thinking stimulus; I think this is the right way to tap into a value of the book. If you skim through the book fast, the general gist of it is "just do your work and angels will guide you," which is not very helpful.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There are many little nuggets of trivial wisdom, regarding impulsive buying, self-worth and so on. But, disconnect I have with the Fumio's central philosophy is that in my view having less is a result of a calm and clear mind, not another way around. I can see who'd benefit from reading this book—it's just not me. If you are a pathological hoarder—read this book.

Book reads like a self-help book. I didn't expect that; granted this is not a problem with the book itself.

Xcode Treasures should be on the must-read list of any developer who’s starting with Apple platforms. Not to say it is not useful for experienced ones. Curious how manual code signing actually works? Do you look down on Storyboards? Whant to know little time savers that are all over Xcode? Finally, do you want an excellent guide to an xcodebuild tool you're fighting on CI machine every week? Read this book. I wish Chris wrote this book at least five years ago.

The complete title of the book is App Architecture: iOS Application Design Patterns in Swift. Leading three chapters of the book is pure gold for beginners (and not only). I think this is the best overview of Apple's interpretation of MVC I've ever seen. It is better than official documentation, seriously. As for last two chapters—those are interesting and nice jigsaw puzzle pieces that should fit in your experimental patterns. At least that's how I saw them. Finally, this is not a systems design book, nor it has much to say about advanced UI manipulation patters. Very recommended.

Thoughts, anecdotes, and facts supporting distraction-free productive concentrated deep work are really well delivered. Many resonate with most, I'd believe. Personally, I found a couple of bits that reaffirmed and formalized my theories toward productive work. Either way, I'd recommend this book to anyone—it's extremely easy and fast read too.

A lovely set of anecdotes and a little peek into the software development methodology of Steve Jobs' Apple. Blast to read, both speed-wise and emotionally. If you are into Apple and write software of any of their platform — recommended.

Interesting dissection of habits—how they form, work and what is their components. Framework from the book enables clear thinking and analyzing of habits; thus decisions on how to form new good habits and how to break old bad ones are easy.

Nice, short and tight introduction to investing—something I started to think about since becoming 30. Andrew discusses what are conservative as well as high-risk strategies, as well as what he considers to be a smart way of doing investing are. If you are a newbie in investing like me, give it a read.

Intermittent fasting is still an ongoing experiment in my life. Apart from Jason's bombastic writing style, I think this book is worth reading even if you decide not to do the fasting. In the second part, the book becomes dense with good nutrition information and facts—what to eat, why, how frequently and so on.

I was born and raised in the country of many cultures—western, moderately eastern and post-Soviet (which in itself is a mixed bag). Only the westerner of me found this book somewhat interesting, while others were irritated by the arrogance. Tokyo Totem is a very curious book. It is very subjective, somewhat narrow, a bit melancholic and admittedly artistic view on the city. This is surprising, given the book is written by a group of people, not a single person. If you live in Tokyo, I'd still recommend it. Comparing your experience with people who wrote it is interesting. Book itself is typeset magnificently; it is a beautiful object.

This book has a cult following, which put me off initially. Noice dissection of human physiology is state of deep focus or work — state of flow. How it works, how to achieve and most importantly its impact on everyday life. Do not be a dummy like me, read it.